Viewed in
2007
Premise
Despite multiple accounts of her fiancee's death in WWI, a French woman continues to believe he is alive and goes on a quest to find him.
Who should watch
Audrey Tautou fans. Those in the mood for a little bit of everything.
Thoughts
I really enjoyed this overly-romantic film. I do not mean this was full of mushy smooching. The style and visuals of this film was absolutely vivacious and wonderful. It reminded me a lot of 'Gone With the Wind'.
Like Tautou and the director's previous film, 'Amelie', this was full of quirky, colorful characters and beautiful moments. I liked her better in this one because had more resolve and was not near annoying with her cuteness. Having said that, I loved it when she made arbitrary signs from above, such as 'If my dog comes before dinner time, he is alive.'
In contrast to bright, quirky world of Tautou's character, the fiancee's WWI world was bleak and gory. This was an amazing juxtaposition between war and peace. Despite all the flying body parts and monotone colors, the romantic style kept the audience enthralled. Kudos to the filmmakers for sticking to their guns on this.
Sorry for the pun, but at times it felt like a very long film. The film meandered as it unraveled one too many subplots and mysteries surrounding the fiancee's death.
Lastly, I did not realize Jodie Foster could speak French.
What I would change
While I understand the contrast and justifications for the gory war scenes, I wished they were toned down.
